SANTA CLARA – Frank Gore is the only running back in the last decade to have two touchdown runs of 79 yards or more in the same game. But even Gore grew a bit bored watching himself scamper across the television screen Monday.
"I saw it this morning," Gore said. "I kinda got of tired of seeing the same thing over and over on ESPN. So I changed the channel."
Changing the channel is a good analogy for how the 49ers have reacted to their 2-0 start. Coach Mike Singletary's refrain ever since the first spring drill has been that the 49ers have miles to go before they can compete with the best teams in the league, and he hasn't allowed his team to get too puffed up over its 2-0 start.
In fact, minutes after Sunday's 23-10 win over Seattle, Singletary sounded like a coach who had just watched his team lose by two touchdowns.
"We just left too much on the table," Singletary said. "We just have to finish. We have to do a better job tackling. We have to do a better job on third-and-long. We have to do a better job overall cleaning it up, so that we can compete with anyone."
In that way, the 49ers' start has been ideal for Singletary. He has gotten crucial wins over division opponents, but the 49ers have made enough mistakes in each victory that Singletary has been able to strike the same I'm-not-satisfied tone with which he entered the season.
In Week 1, for example, the 49ers eked out a four-point win over the defending NFC champion Cardinals, but the offensive line struggled to open holes for Gore and to protect quarterback Shaun Hill. Singletary zeroed in on that unit in the run-up to the Seattle game, and it responded by paving the way for a near franchise-record rushing day for Gore.
Still, Singletary said Monday he wouldn't take the pressure off the unit.
"It will continue to be an everyday thing because our offensive line – we're going to be as good as our offensive line takes us on offense," he said. "It doesn't matter how good our skill people are if our offensive line is not going to take us and put us on their backs and take us downfield. It's not going to happen."
This week, Singletary promises to hammer away at the 49ers' lack of a killer instinct against the Seahawks. Despite a slew of injuries that included losing their starting quarterback and starting middle linebacker during the game, the Seahawks were able to crawl back into it with a touchdown at the end of the first half.
"I just think that we have to do a better job of finishing, and that just kind of comes with our maturity," Singletary said.
One thing that the head coach has to be pleased about: his never-be-content attitude has begun to rub off on his players.
Asked what it's like to begin the season with two wins, Josh Morgan said no one in the locker room is talking about it.
"We're still hungry," he said. "Our standard is a lot higher this year than it was last year."
Read Matthew Barrows' archives and blogs at www.sacbee.com/sf49ers.
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